Theory of Betrayal
by The Magical Cabbage
Summary: Oktavia Amell- Young, impressionable. Maleficar. Benedict Cousland- Sarcastic, Brutally honest. Noble. Alistair-charming, funny. Templar. Even though they don't match their descriptions, the three Grey Wardens must band together to stop foes such as demons, darkspawn, and, above all, themselves from destroying Ferelden. Betrayal, injustice, heresy will guide them on their path.


Prologue: The Curtain of Worlds

9th Age Year 31. 0 days after the Harrowing. The Tower of Magi, Ferelden, Thedas.

The Tower of Magi pierced the sky from every line of horizon. It looked ripped out of a grand castle, and, standing in the centre of Lake Calenhad, it radiated large amounts of seemingly inaccurate dread, for it housed people who were indistinguishable from other citizens of Ferelden in ways of speech and faith and even physical appearance. It is perhaps a shame that the people who called the tower their home weren't allowed outside once they were brought in.

Even though the tower is a majestic structure, fit for king even, it was above all a cage for its inhabitants, who had committed the crime of being born with magic. It allowed them to accomplish extraordinary feats, being capable of both creation and destruction. There was a terminal flaw in having magic though.

Thedas, the name of the world these people lived in, was connected with another one, called the Fade. Every human being entered the Fade when they slept. One without magic would simply experience a dream, being shown different images while in it, not really remembering it. For mages though, those dreams were quite real.

"It is unfortunate that having this "magic", draws a gateway for the denizens of the Fade, demons, who want nothing less than to inhabit your body. If they do, they will destroy you from the inside, leaving a husk for the demon to manifest its form. There is a way to defeat them. Though you might have resisted previous temptations, as you grow in magic and skill, they will increase their efforts. It is for this purpose that you, Oktavia Amell, apprentice mage, were brought here. You shall face a demon, head on, at its strongest in its realm. If you succeed, you will become a full member of the circle and end your apprenticeship. If you fail and become a host for the demon, an abomination, you will be cut down. Maker watch over us all."

Gregoir, knight-commander of the Templar Order of Ferelden concluded his rites. He was a greying man, but you could clearly see the body of a bear behind his armour, which was made of the finest silverite, no expense being spared. The chest-plate had a symbol of the Templar Order, a broadsword with 4 lines coming out of it, vertically parallel, one pair superior and the other inferior. The leggings were covered by a half-robe, adorned with sigils, with the terminal end representing the symbol of the Chantry of Light - a rising sun, representing the return of the Maker and his wife Andraste.

He was located in a dome shaped room, with many designs on the floor and ceiling of both the Circle of Magi and the Chantry of Light. The whole room was illuminated in a sharp, cobalt coloured light. Near the edges of the circle, on all sides stood templars. Though having clearly inferior armour and overall appearance to their leader, they were far stronger than a fereldan knight, as their main task was suppression and killing of mages.

Near the middle of the circle stood three figures. One of them was the knight-commander, and another was the recipient of his speech.

Oktavia Amell, Apprentice Mage of 17, was the centre of attention was struggling with her emotions. Being woken up in the middle of the night by the Templars was scary. Her grey hair was looking terrible, her green eyes didn't radiate the confidence and power she so desired. The most vivid emotion on her face though, was awe. She has heard Gregoir's rites but unlike the other Templars, whose rites were closer to prayers, Gregoir's rites were entire sermons. This was the first time one has been said solely to her. It did remind her of the time she was 14 and curious, when she found out about the Harrowing. His reaction to her illicit presence was the scariest thing she ever experienced, but also the most impressive one. Now, even if she had about the same height as him, she was just as impressed.

"It pains me that we have to go through this, child. You spent so much time preparing for this, but facing a demon... No one can be truly prepared for that." A ragged voice came from the third figure. This was First Enchanter Irving, leader of the Circle of Magi of Ferelden. But to Oktavia, he was her mentor from the time she has turned 12. This was from his perspective. From her perspective, he was a father to her. He still had a grey beard, like when she was brought in to the circle, but it was much longer. Irving looked like he was permanently lacking sleep, with bags under his eyes, and his hair constantly in disarray. Her morning hair looked well combed by comparison. One would be a fool though to assume his appearance pertained to his power though. He had the experience and power to rival a tevinter archon.

"She can handle herself Irving. After all, she had three years to prepare for this. She's lucky she can take this at all. " Sounded the reply. The man could fool people into thinking he was as cold as steel, but Oktavia knew he had to do so to keep his position. With the recently increased stigma against mages from the top officers in the Chantry, they would appoint another commander instead of him, one much more fierce and brutal. They also also, mostly stopped listening to the appeals of mages. If Gregoir wanted her to undergo the Rite of Tranquility, even Irving couldn't stop him.

The Rite, Forcefully cutting the mages from The Fade, it came with the side effect of losing all emotion. Hate, love, happiness, sadness would all be taken away from her. If this was forced on her, she would take her own life. Fortunately, due to the knight-commander's mercy she didn't have to do it. For that reason she was forever grateful to him.

The situation was bearing down on her though. She felt they gave her a lot of chances to respond, but she was too shy to do it. {How do people manage to bask in the attention they get, this is really embarrassing and is making me nervous.} Thought Oktavia. True to her thoughts, she wasn't a social person at all, and this situation was making her extremely nervous, her heart beating louder and louder.

"Touch the lyrium and we will proceed. Farewell Amell. Make sure this isn't my last farewell to you." Said Gregoir, motioning to a pedestal in the exact centre of the room.

Said Amell's gaze went to the said object. Three years ago, she saw another apprentice mage touch it, and then promptly drop to the ground, asleep. It made her back up, hitting the wall, alerting everyone to her presence. This time, she would touch it herself, and enter a demon's domain.

{There I go, I have no choice. I cannot turn back now.} Half-though half-mumbled Oktavia as she went toward the lyrium. She tried to walk normally, but just up making the impression that both of her legs were broken. When she finally reached the pedestal holding the blindingly blue substance, with a shaking hand, the apprentice mage touched it.

Then everything dissapeared.

9th Age Year 31. 0 days after the Harrowing. Realm of an unknown demon, the Fade.

The world had red, yellow and black tones in the earth, in the dirt, and, even in the sky. Oktavia looked around for it, and there it was. The only constant element of the Fade, the Black City in the distance, held up by an invisible force, a place that always seemed to be the same distance away no matter where you were in the realm. She was located on a clearing surrounded by a lot of difficult terrain, but there was one clear path forward.

This was it. She has finally began the Harrowing. Strangely, she wasn't as nervous or scared as she thought she would be. In fact, she felt exceptionally confident of herself. Her faith in her way of magic was reaffirmed.

_Oktavia, age 11 and her fellow apprentices sat at a table eating their humble, if nourishing dinner. At least they got grape juice this time. Jowan, her best friend and protector asked: "Tavia, you have done so much to get ready for the last practical, but you barely made it. Remember when I said I would study? Well, I didn't." Jowan looked a bit ashamed at his confession. "You saw me pass the test easily. How, with so much practice, how did you come so close to failing?"_

_Oktavia suddenly got a sad look on her face. "Can, we... Can we... Can we not talk about it?" She said quietly, and could hear her own voice start to falter._

_Jowan was stubborn in his inquiry though. "Why not. Come on. We're friends aren't we? Whatever it is, it can't be bad."_

_Oktavia was hesitating, but she finally decided to tell him. "I didn't know and, I went to the teacher of primal magic, enchanter Uldered. He was drinking grape juice and when I got close to him, he just filled his goblet again. I asked him why I was having so much trouble. He laughed loudly, and did this show with grape juice. He took a drink of it."_

_"Oh, oh. We have some grape juice now. Why not do his demonstration now?" Jowan looked excited and Oktavia could see he wouldn't be denied. With a heavy heart she decided to appease him._

_She showed Jowan the goblet. "This is, he said this is a full goblet. This would be his magic" She was getting a bit distraught_

_She took a gulp. The goblet was still mostly full. "He said that... Ummm. This is an enchanter of the circle." She looked at Jowan, hoping she wouldn't have any more of this._

_She took another gulp. The goblet was about half full. "He said that this is the magic of a "greenie" mage. I don't really know what greenie mage is" Oktavia felt her eyes start to become wet._

_She took yet another gulp. The goblet was mostly empty now. "And here, he said, would be a normal apprentice mage" she felt her tears drip down her chin._

_She took the last gulp. She showed Jowan the incredibly small amount of juice left. "And he said this... This... This is.." Oktavia could see the room in waves. She ran out of the room, not caring about anything. She just wanted to be left alone. She somehow found a quiet corner in the library, where she brought up her knees to her head and broke down further. After some time, she heard a voice._

_"Tavia, Tavia? I'm so sorry. I should have realised. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me" she heard coming in front of her. {Just leave me alone} she thought. {Why can't he understand?}_

_"Leave me alone Jowan. Please. I can't take it anymore." With a crushed voice managed to bring out Oktavia. "I will be taken to the Rite. I know it. No matter how hard I try, my magic isn't good enough. I don't know if I can live anymore" it was true. Weak mages were forced to take the Rite because the templars thought they weren't strong enough to resist demons. This would inevitably happen to her._

_"No they won't. They won't take you. They can't take you. You're a great mage Tavia. If you were weak, how would you pass all these tests? Can't you compensate? You study so hard. You have quality over quantity. Compared to yours, my grape juice would taste bad. Please Tavia don't give up. You deserve it above anyone else." Jowan spoke the last bit with a strong conviction. Oktavia looked up. He also had tears in his eyes. Unable to speak anymore, she stood up and hugged him._

Oktavia remembered that episode fondly. Ever since, she tried to take pride in her high control of magic. It even impressed First Enchanter Irving to the point where he took her as his personal student. That was her first big accomplishment, and back then, she thought it would be her greatest. But now she knew she would get higher and higher. Maybe she would become the youngest First Enchanter of Ferelden in history.

It is with these thoughts that Oktavia Amell engaged the minions of the demon, nicknamed "Wisps" by one book. They were simple floating concentrations of a demon's magic. Only rage demons used these, not having enough power for a stronger servant. These could be easily disrupted by some magic, or a physical blow to the core. Their only weapon was firing miniature bursts of magic which could cause pain, but dealt minor damage.

To conserve her magica, Oktavia decided to take care of them using the method of brute force. It was a good thing that she took unarmed lessons with Cullen, a sympathetic young templar. The exercises he forced her to take were tiring, and eliminated the little free time she had left. It was worth it though. She felt much better physically, and now she could take down wisps without magic.

Oktavia looked around, and the road out of the patch of ground following split off in many different directions. She took care of the wisps, but really had no idea which direction to take first. As the apprentice mage began figuring out a pattern, she suddenly heard a voice.

"Hey, down here!" It was a mouse, right in front of her.

A mouse? More importantly it was an intelligence. Which meant it was either the demon, or another dreamer who used Fade Shapeshifting. She remembered that turning into a mouse was the easiest form to learn. Sure enough, the mouse soon turned into a human. He looked a bit strange, but she has seen an apprentice with his looks a few weeks before.

"Another one thrown here to die by the Templars. I see you're handling yourself well, but the demon is far stronger than the wisps, even if you can defeat it, the Templars might think you're taking too long" said the man "that's what happened to me. Defeated the demon only to find I can't return to my body."

Oktavia thought for a bit. She has learned in her studies of what happens when people die in their sleep. They are locked in the Fade, unable to get out. She instantly took pity on the man. He had friends, friends he must miss terribly. He was just like her, only now, he has no body left to return to.

"I'm sorry, err" Oktavia thought for a bit "What should I call you" she asked the man.

"I cannot remember my name, it feels like I've been here so long. Call me Mouse, it is the only identity I have left here, it will do" said the man. Oktavia heard sadness in his voice.

"I'm sorry about your loss Mouse. Say, you've been here for so long. Can you show me where the demon is?" Asked Oktavia {I pity that he is stuck here, but he can't do anything here and I may as well employ his aid}

"Of course. I don't have anything better to do here. Might as well do something to help you out. I will show you the place where the demon will appear, but he will appear later on. He should be slumbering now. You should prepare though, the demon will be quite of a challenge." Informed Mouse.

{Powerful? Really? Explains why he's trapped here though.} thought Oktavia. This would be a lesser rage demon, certainly. One Winter's Grasp spell should do it. Rage demons were the weakest of the bunch anyway.

_Oktavia, age 16 and her mentor sat down in one of their sessions._

_"Alright Oktavia, let's review everything you know about demons before I answer your question." Sounded the voice of Irving. "I'm certain you studied them, so first tell me about types of demons." He motioned her to say something._

_"Oh okay. A type of a demon is the emotion that it was born from, that's the currently accepted theory." Oktavia continued. "The theory doesn't include the reason why some types are stronger than others, but an independent study by archon Sonorus says that the stronger emotions govern the other ones."_

_"A study by a tevinter archon? How do you manage to find all the books that the Chantry of Light banned? First those anatomy books, now this..." Irving sighed "You just can't lived by the rules can you. I know, I know the study is completely harmless continue with the explanation" he said preemptively, somehow sensing Oktavia was about to go off on the brilliance of the study._

_"Alright. First, we have Rage demons, which are made of Lava and may take various forms. Their weakness is that they have an element, which makes it easy to defeat them to someone who knows primal spells of the frost variety. Then there are Sloth demons, which usually take form of sleeping things. Their weakness is that they rarely have any servants, making them go against you one on one." Oktavia opened her notes to check her validity. Satisfied, she continued. _

_"Then there are desire demons. These demons usually take the form appeasing to the eye, but their true form is a human looking shape with a burning scalp and a tail. Their weakness is that they almost always engage you in personal conversation, giving you a chance at ambushing them. The last, and most powerful type are the pride demons. Their true form is a Gigantic biped being with a tail at the end. Overall, they look like a dragon without wings standing up straight. Their only weakness is that their hubris- their element really. They usually believe that they can overcome higher odds than they truly are able to."_

"I think I can handle myself pretty well. It's only a lesser rage demon."

"Such Pride. I really hope you can back these words" replied the man. "I would still say we should go ahead, time in the Fade can pass unnoticeably."

Mouse turned back into a... well... mouse and motioned her to follow. After a few wisps were dealt with, Oktavia realised that Mouse couldn't help in combat at all, which wasn't too big of a problem.

They finally came upon a clearing. There, Oktavia could feel a demon was about to emerge. It wasn't sight or hearing based, she just knew. It made her a bit angry, a clear effect of the demon.

_"Good, I'm proud of you." Oktavia gained a big smile on her face. Irving continued. "Can you tell me why they are named such?"_

_"It's because of the way they influence your brain" Irving narrowed his eyes. She realised she went into anatomy. "Arghh fine, emotions. There are two effects, which is actually one effect, explained in the archon's study, may I?" 'Wow. I phrased that terribly'. She looked at Irving, waiting for him to approve._

_"Fine, this time only though, after this don't read any books you know to be forbidden." Said Irving. Oktavia beamed and continued telling him._

_"Okay. So demons cause two effects according to the Chantry approved version. One is when you are winning, which enrages you, and one when you are losing, which fuels the demon's fear." Oktavia wanted to make things clear and separate_

_"According to the archon though, it simply stimulates your amygdala. It's the part in your emotional brain that helps manage flight or fight responses. If you feel like you can beat him, the amygdala focuses you on destroying the foe, making you feel what is known as "angry" as well as increasing response time, which in turn results in you acting first and thinking later."_

_"The other response though, is feeling fear as your brain designates the foe too strong for you. Your amygdala signals for the brain to formulate an escape plan. This also has the effect of making the rage demon seem to get angrier and stronger."_

_"Something similar happens when you encounter all demons. They stimulate different parts of you, causing the emotions of the name they're commonly associated with."_

"You can feel it as well can't you, this is a spirit of rage. This seems like an early time for him to manifest though. Mine appeared much later in the test. Also, he seems much stronger than mine was"

{Much stronger?} thought Oktavia {it's a bloody greater demon. Must be a mistake. Oh well}. Oktavia Amell, apprentice mage was confident though. Winter's Grasp, when properly cast could destroy a lesser demon in one blow.

"Well then, let it come" replied Oktavia. It was time to end this. This was her true test. She checked her resources. At present, she estimated she had 2 Winter's Grasp spells to pull off. She didn't have a mage's staff which was alright. Her gestures required her to be bare-handed anyway.

It was now, or never. Oktavia just started to cast her spell as a hole appeared in the ground, and out of it grew a lizard, half her height and twice her length made of pure red lava. The hole abruptly closed and the lizard began to cast a spell.

The demon never got to finish it though. Its shell suddenly froze solid, a lot of white vapour emanating from it. It was clearly not finished though. The clear ice revealed the lava still burning inside of it. Oktavia didn't wait for it to be broken though, starting to cast her second spell.

Because of her reserves, Oktavia had to rely on the Caecus form of using magic. Another book she found 6 months ago was written by a tevinter magister, who gave his name to the form. This, like the Sonorus book seemed like it escaped the destruction of the tevinter section of the library 20 years ago. The form was based on adding additional words and gestures upon spell-casting. This allowed higher concentration and allowed magic to coalesce into her fingers.

In realistic terms, it allowed her to reduce the magica cost of a spell to a third, while increasing its casting duration eight-fold. Winter's Grasp had a normal casting time of a bit more than one second, which brought its casting time to 8 seconds. Before she found this method, she would have to somehow sneak in a frost staff into her Harrowing to cast the spell properly.

The ice cracked and the demon broke free. Oktavia grit her teeth. She wasn't half done before the demon got free. It cast the spell again, and with her peripheral vision she saw a couple wisps surround her. At they same time, they fired a projectile. She couldn't interrupt the casting, so she would have to take the blow.

When the projectiles hit her, she felt as though her nerves were struck by a million needles. She felt tears form in her eyes, but she knew that interrupting the ritual would mean her end. She was mostly done though, when the lizard broke into a sprint.

Oktavia has just muttered the last incantation when the Lizard leaped at her. Though frozen in midair, the momentum still held, and the apprentice mage got hit by it, and was sent backwards. The frozen lizard was on top of her. Out of magica, Oktavia was about to panic. She looked at the heavy lizard on top of her, and saw through the ice that it was no longer crimson inside. It was charcoal black.

Finally. She has defeated the demon. Oktavia Amell, Apprentice mage of. No. Oktavia Amell, full mage of the Circle of Magi. This was incredible. All her efforts finally paid off. She rolled out of the frozen statue and stood up. Though she was out of magica, her only physical complication was being hit by a large lizard. So she was still fine.

"You did it. You actually did it! You are a really strong mage. I will have no doubt that you will be First Enchanter in no time." Mouse has transformed back into a human. "I could never hope to be as strong as you."

{Damn right you couldn't} thought Oktavia.{though to be fair, he did help me out a lot by bringing me to the demon. I would want to take the challenge alone anyway.} "Mouse, my friend. You helped me out a lot. I just wish that I could help you any"

"Ermm. Actually you might be able to help me. You see, I really want to get back in there, just for a bit. Would you let me occupy your body, for a short while?" Came the desperate-sounding voice of the man.

"I guess it wouldn't..." Oktavia froze as her mind began processing what he said. {Occupy my body? He can't be a demon, he's not a puppet of a demon's creation, because I've just defeated one for Maker's sake.}

Wait a moment! She remembered something. Demons passively influenced the people around them. The spirit of conflict has been defeated, and she didn't feel any anger or fear. She didn't feel apathy, so it wasn't that demon either. Desire? She certainly didn't desire anything. She has completed her task for now.

_"Can you tell me about the strength classification now." Sounded the voice of Irving._

_"Oh certainly. According to the theory, and confirmed in the study is the fact that as demons grow older, they grow more powerful. The general classification is: lesser, greater and ancient. In ascending power and age."_

_"Lesser demons are easily discovered by having a standard colour. It's.." Oktavia flipped through her notes. "Orange for rage. Brown for sloth. Violet for desire. And finally cobalt, or lyrium covered for pride. Despite having same colours, the lesser demons still hold various forms.._

_"Greater demons usually gain their own colouring. It is usually the most reliable way of recognising a demon. This doesn't always cover the magic they use, so a blue rage demon would still have white wisps. The other way of knowing a greater from a lesser is that their form will improve. A lizard would be more agile, a bear would be stronger, a wolf will be faster."_

She is having these memories surface, but she couldn't quite put her finger on the solution. It was like a puzzle, but it was missing one piece. It couldn't be a pride demon. It simply couldn't. They are never interested in apprentice mages. Even Irving himself has confessed he has never seen a pride demon.

_"Such pride."_

That was the missing piece. She couldn't deny it any longer.

Oktavia looked at Mouse. She still felt somewhat confident. If this was a lesser pride demon, she might outsmart him yet. She should be exiting her Harrowing anyway.

"So. Not saying I agree to anything. How exactly would you occupy my body for a little bit" she added emphasis on the little bit part.

Mouse suddenly dropped his pleading expression, gaining a cruel expression in his face. Oktavia felt all her self-esteem drop into a bottomless pit. Then, Mouse wasn't standing there any longer.

In front of her stood a creature many times her size. She had to look far up to see all of it. It was a bipedal dragon without wings. Its scales were flawless, yet somehow stayed opaque, being the colour of dried blood. It's horns curved upwards and met together with little distance together, as if something was supposed to be between them.

**"It is time for the spectacle to end, isn't it?" **When he spoke, the Fade seemed to reverberate. Her self-esteem was just joined by any control of the conversation she ever had. This was beyond fear and any of its derivatives. Gregoir was this demon's bitch by comparison.

**"Let me tell you a tale. There was a tevinter archon, Valerius that tried to control me. He has sacrificed quite a number of slaves to bind me after summoning. Before the spell got off though, I cast an illusion of his bind failing. Despite his power, his heart stopped beating after thinking I was free. The Veil between worlds was thin, and the archon's dwelling was being besieged. The illusion was costly, so I decided to take a hit to my pride for the price of my life"**

Oktavia knew demons never wasted words. Valerius, that was the name of the last Tevinter book she has found. One thing disturbed her more. Illusions in the real world? That wasn't a skill pride demons normally possessed, that was the realm of the desire demons.

_"So what's the last type, ancient. I couldn't really find more than abstracts in the previous books I've read and the archon book focuses more on their interaction with your anatomy." Asked Oktavia her mentor._

_"Ancient demons are really rare. My memory is currently frail. Maybe once you become a mage, you can ask senior enchanters for examples. Currently, I can tell you that a trait they exhibit is gaining a special use for their magic. A special skill pertaining only to them."_

So. She's dealing with an ancient demon. If he mentioned Valerius, he must have dealt with the ancient archon himself. A demon could fabricate any story though, so the mentioning of the name was intentional. The book, she found in plain sight, then she hid it, vowing to never open it. That was a month ago.

**"Figured it out, have you, Oktavia Amell? You truly think your Chantry so incompetent that they can't find three highly illegal books, yet, they have somehow gone unnoticed? I've given them to you over by intervals to let you adapt to them. You haven't opened the last book though. You will."**

He wanted her to learn blood magic? Why? The demon's words had too many implications. Too many possibilities. There was one thing that struck out though. {He intends for me to live? What kind of a sinister plot is he going to put me through. I don't know. I can't do this. Why can't this all be my imagination}

**"Normally, you would have made sense of everything already with all the hints I have given you. Very well then. Your body is too weak for me to fully manifest, so this is only for your life. You are going to make a contract with me. I am going to give you an offer. You are going to accept, because you are weak."**

Oktavia wasn't going to follow his suggestions. He would betray her. More importantly, by accepting his offer, she would betray everything she has ever stood for.

She has been taught of the Chantry of Light. She was taught the Maker existed and his prophetess Andraste existed. She couldn't betray this.

She remembered her mentor Irving. She could see him proud and smiling at her progress right now. He would be so disappointed with her.

She remembered Gregoir. The stern knight-commander risked so much for her, and this is how she would repay him? No. She would be strong.

Lastly, her friend Jowan. The one who believed in her when everyone else thought she was worthless. Could she betray his trust in her? Of course not.

Oktavia knew the demon was waiting for her response. There should be no more hesitation. Her whole life has been building up to this moment. Would she be weak and betray her friends? No. She couldn't. She will stand strong.

Oktavia Amell, Apprentice Mage of 17, managed to get her mouth out to say two words.

"I accept"

Oktavia felt tears burst out of her eyes. She was weak. She has failed. She has betrayed everyone. {I'm so. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.} She broke down. She has never felt this much shame and guilt before. She wanted to exile herself somewhere she would never be seen again.

Suddenly, the demon's take had another connection. She would cast away a little bit of her pride for her life. Surely she would make it up to them.

Meanwhile, she saw the demon had not been wasting time. She was surrounded by countless runes and circles. The demon had a hand straight up in the air, with one claw extended. It was emanating large amounts of crimson light.

**"After you awake, you will feel for the worse. Disregard that, it will pass. You are the only one would endure this anyway. I will explain more during your next visit to the Fade. Since you so readily betrayed Irving, I am your father now. Mentally now, and more physically after the ritual."**

So the story wasn't about her giving up her pride. It was about him doing it. It was about him, it was always about him. No matter how much she would try, she would always end up serving him.

The lights intensified. Oktavia couldn't see anything anymore. Suddenly, the source got closer to her and she couldn't breathe anymore. She felt something large pierce her clean through and heard Mouse as she drifted out of this place.

**"Arise now, my creation"**

A/N Due to Dragon Age:Origins being a GAME above all other things, it wasn't designed for a text format. So I took some liberties with it to convert it into a non-game variant.

That's all. I hope you enjoyed this.


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